Jersey City — Deep tech made its way into fashion’s biggest night of the year at the 2024 Met Gala.
With the theme being “The Garden of Time,” the world’s biggest stars and celebrities gathered in whimsical haute couture interpretations of nature and the essence of a ticking clock.
Stunning images of Katy Perry, Rhianna and Selena Gomez began to roll out in the storm of other guest arrival photos that hit the internet. Much to the dismay of most the world – and even to Katy Perry’s mom, turns out those images were AI-generated.
While it seems harmless in theory that AI users can generate interpretations of Met Gala inspired looks on their favorite celebrities at the click of a button, this access to advanced technology runs the risk of spreading false information.
What was done with the Met Gala images can be classified as deepfakes, which are synthetic forms of media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person's likeness convincingly with that of another.
It is the tech-fueled equivalent of being in two places at once, at times, without the consent of who is being portrayed. Public figures such as President Joe Biden and Taylor Swift have fallen victim to deepfakes portraying false images and inauthentic voice generated content.
Beyond the household names of the world, deepfakes have begun to infiltrate everyday school systems. Just last year, a New Jersey highschooler caught fire for allegedly creating AI pornographic images of female students.
From the rich and famous, down to the ‘everyday Joe’s’ — no one is exempt from falling victim to being used for deep fakes, or being fooled by them.
There is a huge need for further education on how to detect AI-generated images and further consequences outlined for the use of them, if things go south.
Keeping it gee, while I am just excited as the next tech enthusiast to utilize AI, I do want to underscore that it is imperative to really research the content we see online before believing anything is true at face value.
Miranda Perez (she/her/hers) is a Jersey City, NJ-based journalist who covers the tech industry. Follow her on X and Instagram: @mimithegee.
Edited by NaTyshca Pickett